Rantor, founding member of the International League of Luddites, headquartered in South Austin, Texas 78704, celebrates National Indignation Week every day of the year.

Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Scraping the bottom

You Were Never Lovelier, courtesy of Vulcan, does not contain the better songs of Kern and Mercer, to say the least. Fred and Rita are just fine, as are the supporting players, but in some ways the true stars are the ladies' hats and tailored luncheon suits, as well as Rita's dancing gowns. Cugie and the Xavier Cugat band show to advantage, too. Only I'm Old Fashioned is a song worthy of Jerome Kern and has stood the test of time. Fred himself is the choreographer. This 1942 movie is a remake of a 1941 Argentine movie originally in Spanish, of course, that did not enjoy the advantage of Fred and Rita.